Tales from the life of a homeschooling Catholic housewife, who is also a biker chick, a Geek Girl and a Libertarian.

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Angst (repost from old blog)

I have tried this blogging thing before, but never with much success. This time I'm going at it with a new attitude - it's a place for me to write about all the things that are important to me, not just homeschooling or geekery or any other single subject. Anyhow, this is a repost of an entry I wrote last year on my old blog - it sums up how I feel about Classical Conversations, and perceived persecution of a sort from my local Catholic homeschool community.

I was going to write about our summer curriculum today, but I feel the
need to get back to why I started this blog. I'm part of a local
Catholic homeschool yahoo group; even though I haven't met many of the
women on the boards, I get the posts in digest form in my email every
day. Even though I personally know at least seven Catholic families in
our area who participate in Classical Conversations, the moderators of
the board are convinced that the organization is somehow anti-Catholic
and will not allow us to post announcements about CC or attend the local
Catholic homeschool conference as a vendor. (Seriously - we offered to
pay for a table last year so we could present our materials to the
Catholic community, and they flat out refused us saying they only permit
Catholic or secular vendors.)

This is incredibly frustrating to me, as I love the Roman Catholic
Church and I also love CC. I completely understand wanting to support
Catholic companies such as Classically Catholic and Catholic Schoolhouse, but the truth is that CC is a wonderful organization. I
have heard that, in some parts of the country, Catholic families have
been made to feel unwelcome in CC communities, but that is not a mandate
from CC corporate; Leigh Bortins herself states that she welcomes all
orthodox Christians, including Roman Catholics and Greek Orthodox.

Classical Conversations does not teach religion. The company's motto is
"To know God and make Him known," and that Christian spirit is evident
in the communities - but there is no doctrinal teaching in the
curriculum. Instead, the focus is on teaching children using the
classical method by focusing on history, geography, math, science,
English grammar, and Latin. There is Bible memorization - for Cycle 3,
we memorized John 1:1-7 in English and Latin, and for Cycle 1, we memorized Exodus 20:1-17 (the Ten Commandments) - but there is no
discussion of theology. Even in the Challenge program, students are
told that their parents are the spiritual head of the home and doctrinal
questions should be discussed with them rather than decided by the
tutor.

And yes, I know there is a timeline card that references the
Reformation. You know what? That's something that really happened, and
we need to discuss it with our children. Maybe I have a different
perspective on it because I was not born into a Catholic family - I
began considering the Catholic faith when I was in college, and finally
completed the RCIA process just six years ago when I was pregnant with
Sophie - but I don't see a problem with discussing controversial topics
with my children. I can answer any questions they have with confidence
and teach them how to answer their friends who may challenge them in a
respectful and educated manner.

I suppose it comes down to this: I do not plan to raise my children in a
Catholic bubble. That is not why I chose to homeschool. I feel called
to homeschool because I truly believe I can provide my children with a
significantly better education at home than they would get in a public
school setting, and I also appreciate that they are being spared the
relentless peer pressure that abounds even in private school settings. I
want my children to know there are other world views out there, and
still understand the sacredness of our Catholic traditions.

I chose Classical Conversations after much research, and I stand by that
decision. I chose to become a part of a new CC community rather than
starting up a Catholic Schoolhouse community or creating a Classically
Catholic co-op because I have seen CC in action and I love it. I do not
believe that I am somehow violating my Catholic conscience by
participating in CC.

I just wish I could make the leaders of the Yahoo group understand
that. Let Catholic families make the choice for themselves; talk to
those of us in the local community who participate in CC, and don't just
mandate that it's anti-Catholic and therefore should not be afforded
the same privileges that Catholic and secular homeschool vendors receive

1 comment:

Do you know where I could find the quote or video from Leigh where she says she welcomes all families including Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox? I keep reading it, but no one actually has a link to the source.

About Me

Growing up, I never felt like I really fit in - but now I've come to see that as an asset rather than a flaw. I am difficult to define, because I have a wide variety of interests and hobbies. I'm a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mother, a friend; I'm a homeschooling Catholic housewife, but in my free time I ride motorcycles, read everything from Great Books to Chick Lit to modern sci-fi/fantasy novels, play tabletop RPGs (and occasionally video games) with friends, and watch a wide variety of television shows and movies. (I'm on a Doctor Who kick right now; before that it was The Walking Dead, and I love pretty much anything Joss Whedon has ever done.) I wish I was cool enough to write for GeekMom.com, but at the same time I want to be taken seriously as a Classical Catholic homeschooler. I am tremendously cynical when it comes to politics, and my views in that arena are primarily Libertarian.